5 Things I'm Bad At

For my job at school in August I had to take a personality test, which isn't something I've taken in quite a long time. It identified my strength themes as adaptability, maximizer, includer, significance and context. I can definitely resonate with includer because I've always been someone to include others and try and allow everyone to become friends. As much as I think it's important to recognize your strengths, it is also very essential to point out your weaknesses. Personally, I'm a maximizer and I like to play to my strengths, rather than work on my weaknesses. But, it's still important to recognize them to work and improve them! Basically, these are five things that I'm bad at, but not all are too serious ;)

Off To The West Coast

@ Summer House Santa Monica // Chicago, IL

And I'm off! When you're reading this I'm most likely on my way back to Los Angeles! It's so weird to think that I'm actually moving back to my favorite place on earth. Last year at school was a total dream because it was my biggest aspiration to live in Los Angeles and I really couldn't believe that I was living my dream. I'm so excited to finally be "home", move into my apartment and finally see my friends!

My final day at home was spent rushing around the mall picking up last minute necessities and going to a fave dinner spot with my bff. As much as I'm ready to go, it's sad to say goodbye to everyone and everything at home. Thankfully, Thanksgiving is only a few months away and I'll be back before I know it! Plus there's so much to look forward to this fall including Pi Phi events, new classes, USC football games (oops I don't go there, but I still go to the games haha) and just overall beautiful weather. I can't wait to see what sophomore year has in store!! Wish me luck!

Xoxo

My August Playlist

It's insane to think I'm leaving for school in just two short weeks. This summer felt like forever, but also went by in the blink of an eye. The days are long, but the months are short!! This past weekend I went to Lollapalooza which is always a highlight of the summer. Because I was in Michigan for the first three days I was only able to go Sunday, but wow I'm so happy I went. Every year I debate about going to Lolla and last year I decided that I wasn't going to go. The night before the first day I had major fomo and bought a ticket at the last second and was so happy I did. My friend and I went to Michigan the day after, but only stayed for a day before finding Sunday tickets and hopping on a train home. So extra, and probably not worth it, but Lolla is just that enticing.

This year I am so happy I went at least one day because it truly is so much fun. I went with a bunch of friends, but ended up splitting up to be with two of my close friends and we had so much fun dancing and vibing to Big Sean, Charli XCX and Rae Sremmurd. It was insanely crowded, but we didn't let that stop us. Making playlists is one of my favorite ways to capture memories. I love how you can listen to a song and it takes you back to a specific time in your life. I just made my August playlist and I'm excited to listen to it throughout August and as I start school soon. Comment below your favorite song at the moment because I'm all over finding new music right now. Enjoy!

Xoxo

Life Update

Long time, no chat! This past week was honestly just me being lazy about blogging, and spending more time searching the internet and watching YouTube videos, rather than being productive. I realized I haven't mentioned a ton about my life in quite some time on this blog so I wanted to share with you all a life update and what I have going on in the next month or so. Also, how is it August tomorrow? That's so crazy to me!!

Today I leave for Saugatuck, MI until Saturday and am soo excited. I've been home since May 5 and the only traveling I have done was to visit a friend at Mizzou in May. Other than that I've been in town all summer and am so ready to get away, even if just for a week. I ended up quitting my job a week early to go on this family vacation, but I know it will be so worth it (and honestly I'm not sad about quitting early). This was the only week available between my brother's football schedule and mine and my sister's work schedules that we were able to skip town and I'm so ecstatic that we are to staying at a family friend's lakehouse for the week. I have only two goals this week: to read a book and even out my one piece tan haha ;).

On the note of work, I can't say my job was exactly what I was picturing this summer. In all honesty, it was awful. I was not a fan of the company I was working for and the whole camp overall was extremely disorganized. I learned a lot this summer about communicating and making the best of what you have, but let's just say I will not be working a job like this one ever again. Thankfully, my co-counselors were awesome and made the entire experience bearable.

I can't believe summer is almost over, but I'm also so incredibly relieved. I've been sort of bored out of my mind this summer and am so excited to head back to Los Angeles on August 21. A lot of my friends have been gone this summer so it's been sort of lonely here in town and I can't wait to be living with my best friends at school and nearby to all the other sophomores. But, before summer can come to a close I have Lollapalooza on Sunday and am babysitting for a friend's dog the week before I leave and am so stoked (I'm actually obsessed with his dog). Now all I need to do is get over my fear of flying and I'll be back in LA sooner than I think!

What are you up to these final days of summer? Xo

Apartment Inspiration

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I'm living in an apartment on campus this year. I'm so excited to actually have a bit more space because living in a dorm was definitely a bit cramped. I'm living with my roommate from last year, and two of my other best friends from school. There are two bedrooms and one bathroom so although we'll have more space, we still have to share a bit. The best part about the apartment...a kitchen! Living in a dorm was the worst because we constantly ate out because we were so sick of the food on campus. LMU's food is pretty good, but I got sick of it so quickly because I ate the same things every day.

5 Easy Ways To Save Money

Ask anyone that knows me. They will most definitely say I'm terrible with money. I am always in debt to my parents in one way or another, I spend money I don't have and I spend money on ridiculous things that I don't even need. However, after going to school last fall with more than enough money and spending almost all of it before first semester ended I knew I needed to clean up my act.

My biggest problem in this area was definitely the introduction of a debit card. In high school my sole form of income was babysitting which almost always was paid in cash. I always paid in cash because it was the only form of money I had so I wasn't able to order things online unless I went through the trouble of giving the cash to my parents and convincing them to let me order something. Once I got a debit card however, I instantly felt like I needed to order legit everything online and went a little wild.

Having learned from my mistakes I was determined to make a lot of money this summer, and also spend only a minimal amount of it. I'm all about treating yourself and a good shopping spree, but within reason. So, here are my five essential tips to saving money!

Ombre Dress

Can we please just take a moment for this perfect dress? I saw this dress in pink on Kate and fell in love. I knew right away I needed to have it, but when I saw they had it in blue I pretty much freaked out. I loved the style of the dress, but pink isn't really my style. Practically everything I own in my closet is blue and I knew this would make the perfect addition to my wardrobe.